In the manufacture of terry cloth wash cloths and towels and other flat textile goods, the material usually is formed and accumulated in an elongated length of cloth material which is wound into a supply roll. The roll of supply material is positioned at a sewing system and is progressively unwound and advanced toward the sewing system, where it is cut into segments. Each segment is then moved individually along a sewing path into a sewing machine and turned at its corners so that the sewing machine continuously operates to sew about all sides of the segment and to form rounded corners between adjacent sides of the segment. An example of this type of system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,018,462.
Although the prior art hemming devices operate successfully when forming hems on substantially rectilinear edges, problems still exist with respect to the successful forming of hems about rectangular wash cloths and other approximately rectangular segments of flexible textile fabrics. This is illustrated in FIG. 11 of the drawings. When the sewing machine is in operation and is trimming and hemming along a side edge of a rectangular segment 12 and a corner 22 of a segment approaches the sewing machine, the segment is turned approximately 90.degree. so that the next edge of the segment can be trimmed and hemmed. The corner is usually turned through a radius as opposed to through a right angle so that the corner of the finished product is rounded during the trimming and sewing operation. During this turning procedure, an additional amount of material 22 is cut from the corner of the segment in comparison with the amount cut from the side edge of the segment and the position of the cutter is further from the perimeter of the corner of the segment. In most instances, the enlarged amount of material 22 in the portion of the corner that is being cut away is more difficult to control during the trimming, sewing and turning operation, and this bulk material in the cut away corner tends to bend or fold at 71 and retard the movement of the segment through the trimmer and the sewing needle. As a result, the sewing machine tends to form double or crowded stitches at the rounded corners of the slower moving product as shown at 125 in FIG. 12. In addition, the corners with crowded stitches tend to curl after the sewing operation due to the additional stitches formed therein, and in many instances the loops of the additional stitches will protrude outwardly from the edge of the segment, so that the stitches form a small fringe protruding from the rounded corners of the segment.
In an effort to avoid the above described problems, it is possible to move the transport plate that controls the movements of the segment closer to the position of the edge trimmer and the sewing needle so that the length of the textile segment which extends between the transport plate and the trimmer is so short that the likelihood of folding, bending or flexing of the textile segment at the trimmer and needle is substantially reduced.
While the placement of the transport plate closer to the trimmer and sewing machine needle helps to solve the aforementioned problems, the relocation of the transport plate closer to the trimmer and sewing machine needle reduces the ability of the transport plate to handle off-sized goods. For example, if the system is to function to cut and hem thirteen inch wash cloths, the segments being fed to the sewing station must be at least 131/2" wide and long. If the textile fabric being fed to the system is somewhat stretched and has become less than 131/2" wide, the transport plate normally would be moved closer to the trimmer blade and sewing machine needle to compensate for the narrowed supply material; however, if the transport plate has already been moved close to the trimmer and sewing machine needle to compensate for the wrinkling of the work product, there is no space available to move the transport plate even closer to the trimmer and needle to compensate for the narrowed supply of material.
Therefore, there is a need for a hemming system that can accurately control the trimming and sewing about the corners of textile segments, and also function to operate on off-sized goods.